


can't wash you out of my hair

by sepsner



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff without Plot, Keith is stupid, Lance is hopeless, M/M, One-Shot, hairdresser au, together they're super cute, unedited oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 10:03:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16532420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sepsner/pseuds/sepsner
Summary: Lance is a hairdresser. Keith is his customer. It's love at first cut.





	can't wash you out of my hair

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of my multiple one-shots written for NaNo! I might end up editing it once the month ends.

Today was busy in the salon. Lance wasn’t sure why he got influxes of customers some days and none other days, but he wasn’t going to complain. One balanced out the other. So, when Lance called over the next customer, he didn’t notice what he was working with until the other man sat down.  
  
“So how are you doing?” Lance asked, swooping the cover over the customer’s shoulders.  
  
“I’m alright,” he replied, and Lance finally saw who he was working with in the reflection of the mirror.  
  
Oh, he was beautiful.  
  
Lance was met with eyes so blue, they almost looked purple. His skin was flawless and smooth, as if he never suffered from acne in his life. And his hair… Lance couldn’t wait to run his hands through his hair. It looked so shiny and soft. If Lance was any creepier, he would probably cut off a lock and take it home.  
  
"Are you okay there?"  
  
Lance snapped out of it, realising he had just been running his fingers through this guy's hair for a few minutes. Way to be a massive creep, Lance.  
  
"Yeah!" He laughed, immediately pulling away. "Sorry about that. So, I'm Lance! I wanna get to know you a bit more, you know, for... hair reasons." Hair reasons? Seriously, Lance? You really think this guy would buy that and think you're _not_ a giant creep?  
  
Even though the was probably freaked out, the customer still replied. "I'm Keith. Why would you need that for..?"  
  
"You know," Lance hummed, trying to pull an excuse out of his ass. "You need to at least learn someone’s name before you go and cut all their hair off."  
  
Maybe that was enough. Maybe Keith thought he was just a weird, eccentric hairdresser, rather than the creep that Lance felt like he was. Either way, Keith went quiet. Lance took that as an opportunity to ask some questions.  
  
“So, Keith.” Lance said the name like it was a magic spell. “What do you want me to do with your hair?” Your gorgeous hair.  
  
Keith frowned. “I think I want it short.”  
  
“No!” Lance covered his mouth, realising he had just blurted out. “I mean- are you sure? Your hair is gorgeous!”  
  
Keith turned and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I think I’m sure?”  
  
Lance, you were such an idiot. Why’d you have to go and yell out like that?  
  
“I mean - don’t worry, dude. I’ll cut it however you want, promise.”  
  
Keith turned and looked at him over his shoulder. Lance wanted to faint. His eyes were so much more piercing and shining in person, rather than in his reflection.  
  
“Are you okay? Should you be going home or something?”  
  
Lance shook his head. “No, I’m fine.” He was fine. Just a pretty boy making him act stupid. This wasn’t the first time, either. Boy, girl, it didn’t matter. If Lance thought they were attractive, all sense was gone. Stammering and sweating and saying the most awkward and embarrassing things that he could never take back.  
  
Keith turned back towards the mirror and Lance composed himself. Stop being stupid and just cut his hair. You’ll never see this guy again, so there’s no use in getting all wound up about it.  
  
Lance ran a comb through Keith’s hair. It went down a little past his shoulders and curled up at the end. He must have used some expensive conditioner, because his hair was soft as hell. Softer than most hair Lance touched.  
  
“So,” Lance finally asked, “how short?”  
  
Keith tilted his head, showing off his jawline. Not on purpose, Lance was sure, but he still swallowed, trying not to think of kissing his neck.  
  
“How short do you think I should go?”  
  
Weird question, considering that Keith just said he’d choose his own haircut. Lance hummed and took some in a comb, stopping at around neck length. “To here?”  
  
“A little shorter than that, then,” Keith replied. Lance swore he saw Keith smirking in the mirror, but… nah. Why would he be _smirking_?  
  
Lance went to work, sectioning the hair and taking off parts at a time. Someone as pretty as Keith deserved to have nice, layered hair, since it looked so soft and shiny. Maybe he’d take a little off the fringe, too. Actually, Keith’s hair looked like it hadn’t been cut in a while. Maybe that’s why he initially wanted it short - so he wouldn’t have to come back again. Eh, Lance could understand that.  
  
“So,” Lance started. Of course he was going to talk. He was a hairdresser. “You getting a haircut for any particular reason?”  
  
“What?” Keith almost turned, but quickly sat back in his original position. “No? Do people only get haircuts if there’s a reason beyond ‘my hair is too long’?”  
  
Lance laughed. “No, I mean, do you have an interview? Are your parents coming to town? Do you have a…” Lance paused. “Do you have a date?”  
  
Keith snorted. “No, I already have a job. No, my mom doesn’t even live in the country. And, no. I’m still single.”  
  
Lance’s heart leapt. Don’t act too excited, don’t act too excited- “Oh, what a shame.” Wow, Lance, way to sound incredibly insincere. Jackass. “I’m sure you’ll find someone eventually, right?” Move on from the topic before you say something stupid. “So what do you do for work?”  
  
“I’m a mechanic.”  
  
“Oh,” Lance hummed, snipping away. It actually surprised him - who knew this handsome guy would actually be something like that? Lance couldn’t help but wonder what other unexpected secrets Keith hid behind his cute face. “Is it a dirty job?”  
  
“I sometimes get pretty dirty, yeah.”  
  
Lance would like to get Keith pretty dirty, too. He almost snipped at Keith’s ear. Calm down.  
  
“I bet it’s a useful skill. People aren’t gonna just stop driving cars.”  
  
“Yeah,” Keith said, “like people aren’t gonna just stop coming to hairdressers.”  
  
“Yeah!” Lance laughed. “I think we’ll both be good in the long-term.”  
  
The conversation died down again. Lance kind of expected it by now. After all, Keith didn't seem like the talkative type. Good thing Lance could pad out a conversation like his life depended on it.  
  
"So you said you're single?" As if Lance's motives couldn't be any more clear, he had to go and say that. "How long for?"  
  
Lance noticed Keith looking down in his reflection. "Not long."  
  
"I'm sorry," Lance bit his lip. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."  
  
"I don't want to."  
  
Great, now there was a silence _and_ a bad atmosphere. Lance could take the hint - Keith didn't wanna talk anymore. And since his breakup was only recent, he probably didn't want dumbass hairdressers hitting on him, either. The next ten minutes was nothing but scissors snipping.  
  
"How's this?" Lance eventually asked, holding a mirror up to the back of Keith's head.  It was short enough - Keith could probably pull it into a small ponytail if he wanted. Lance's heart skipped thinking about it. Stop being useless over a dude who doesn't even know who you are!  
  
"It's nice. Thanks." Lance could have sighed from relief. He didn't know why he wanted to impress Keith so badly, but he did.  
  
Keith paid, and the whole situation was finally over. Lance could sit around and think about how much of a dumbass he was for the rest of the week. Eventually, he realised, he had no need to worry - after this conversation, Keith would never turn up again.  
  
A month later, Keith turned up again.  
  
Lance almost dropped his comb when he saw him. Okay, maybe he was only here because of the pricing. Maybe he wanted someone else to cut his hair, like Hunk or Allura. Yeah, Hunk and Allura would take him.  
  
Except when Hunk and Allura were both free, Keith didn't move from the waiting spot. It was only when Lance finished with his first customer did Keith come and take a seat.  
  
Lance covered his torso with the protective sheet and nervously prepared his tools.  
  
“Hey,” Keith called, looking over his shoulder.  
  
“Hey.”  
  
“I’m here for another haircut.”  
  
“I can see that,” Lance laughed.  
  
“Yeah.” Keith turned back to the mirror. “The other one was too long, so it grew back to normal too fast. I had to come back sooner than I expected.”  
  
“Sorry,” Lance said, “do you want me to cut it shorter this time?”  
  
Keith seemed to think about it for a little while. “Nah, to the same length.”  
  
“Really?” Lance laughed a little. “Then you’ll have to come back and deal with me all over again. If you wanted me, anyway. You know there are two other hairdressers here most of the time, right?”  
  
“Yeah,” Keith said. “But I wanted you to cut my hair. You did it right.”  
  
Alright, Lance figured. If this guy wanted some weirdo to cut his hair for him every time and talk about stuff that made him uncomfortable, Keith was more than welcome. Lance combed his hair out, refusing to talk. This time, he didn’t want the same feeling of awkwardness to settle.  
  
“I’m getting a haircut,” Keith said suddenly, “because I’m hoping to ask someone on a date.”  
  
“Seriously?” Lance smiled, even though it made him a little sad. He had no right to be, and he knew it, but Keith was so handsome, he couldn’t help it. “Who?”  
  
“I can’t tell you who.” Keith seemed to turn pink in the mirror, or was it the lighting? “But I want to look my best for it.”  
  
“Yeah,” Lance hummed, separating Keith’s hair. “I get what you mean.”  
  
The two were quiet again, but at least it wasn’t because Lance was being stupid. At least, they were quiet until Keith piped up again.  
  
“I wanna do it soon.”  
  
“Well, good luck, buddy.”  
  
“Yeah. Thanks.”  
  
They were quiet again. Wait, was _Keith_ being the weird one this time? Oh, man, Lance almost couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t the one making other people uncomfortable for once! He snipped at Keith’s hair, thankful that the atmosphere wasn’t as awkward as last time.  
  
“He’s different from my last boyfriend,” Keith said.  
  
Why was Keith so insistent on talking about his crush? Oh, man, was he nervous about it? That was cute as hell. Fuck, it made Lance wish that _he_ was the one Keith was planning on asking out. If only, huh?  
  
“What was your last boyfriend like?”  
  
“Buff.” Lance laughed. “Alright, more than buff. He was gentle, and he took his time to understand me. He never thought I was weird.”  
  
“He sounds perfect. Why did you break up?” Wait, should Lance have asked that?  
  
Keith didn’t seem to mind this time. “We kept fighting. He’d blame me for being selfish in front of our friends, and only apologise about it hours later, when we were alone. He was acting like a totally different person recently, so I just…”  
  
Lance frowned. “You couldn’t take it?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Lance combed at more of Keith’s hair. He didn’t want to leave them both feeling like this. “You’re gorgeous,” he sighed. “Any guy would feel lucky if you asked them out.”  
  
Keith smiled a little into the mirror. “I hope so.”  
  
Although it wasn’t his place, Lance couldn’t help but wonder what this guy Keith was going to ask out was like. If he wasn’t like his last boyfriend, then what was he like? Scrawny, rough, and misunderstanding? Wow, he sounded pretty shitty. Hah, actually, he sounded like all the bad ways Lance would describe himself.  
  
Was Keith planning on asking Lance out? Lance snipped at his finger, suddenly distracted. “Ow,” he whined, popping his finger into his mouth. He had to stop thinking like that. It wasn’t gonna happen. But, god, did Lance want it to.  
  
The two of them talked about stupid shit, like the weather, with Keith initiating every topic. It was almost like he was encouraging Lance to talk to him. Maybe Lance was reading it wrong. Keith made it pretty clear last time that he didn’t want Lance to talk to him.  
  
Eventually, the haircut was done. Lance held up the mirror to the back of Keith’s head, and Keith smiled, checking himself out. It wasn’t a huge change, but Keith seemed happy.  
  
At the till, Keith handed over the cash. Lance expected him to go, but instead, he stood there like he wanted to say something.  
  
“You okay? You wanna book an appointment for next month?”  
  
“I- no,” Keith mumbled. He ran a hand through his freshly-cut hair. “I was wondering if you wanted to… if you would… with me…”  
  
“What? Dude, I don’t know what you’re asking me.”  
  
“Date,” Keith blurted. “Date. I want you- go on one with me. Date me please.”  
  
Lance blinked. Did he hear that right? He turned around to make sure no one else was behind him, then looked at Keith again. “Me?”  
  
“Yeah,” Keith mumbled, his face going red. “Please.”  
  
So all the times Lance wished he was Keith’s date had somehow come true. Someone was looking down from heaven on him - thank you, Grandpa. It might not be you, but you’re the first dead relative Lance could think of.  
  
“Of course!” Lance beamed. “I’d be crazy if I said no! You’re so handsome and… and perfect!”  
  
Keith snorted. “Not perfect. But you’ll find out.”  
  
“Yeah. On our date.”  
  
Keith went red again and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll come in when your shift is done.”  
  
“Then I’ll see you at six!”  
  
Keith left, and Lance could have sung. To imagine that someone like Keith would ask out someone as weird and awkward as Lance… well, maybe Keith was also weird and awkward, if their last conversation was anything to go by. But that just made Lance adore him more. As much as Lance loved working at the salon, he wanted to close up as soon as possible. Roll on, six o’clock!


End file.
